Tom Hanks warns fans against AI-generated video scam using his likeness
- Replies 2
Some celebrities have it hard enough being in the public eye and the demands of show business can be exhausting, intrusive, and overwhelming.
As if it wasn’t hard enough, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made life even harder for celebrities due to its sophisticated ability to impersonate them for malicious purposes.
Recently, a video featuring an AI-generated image of Hollywood star Tom Hanks circulated the internet, and the acclaimed actor took to social media to warn his followers not to fall for the scam that used his image without his permission.
'BEWARE!', he wrote in the caption below an image of the AI-generated Tom Hanks.
'There's a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me. I have nothing to do with it,' he added.
In a podcast, Hanks discussed his fears about the implications of AI on the entertainment industry, and claimed that the technology can make it difficult for fans to distinguish between a fake image and a real actor.
'The first time we did a movie that had a huge amount of our own data locked in a computer—literally what we looked like—was a movie called The Polar Express,' he shared.
'We saw this coming. We saw that there was going to be this ability to take zeros and ones inside a computer and turn it into a face and a character. Now that has only grown a billion-fold since then, and we see it everywhere.'
'I can tell you that there [are] discussions going on in all of the guilds, all of the agencies, and all of the legal firms to come up with the legal ramifications of my face and my voice—and everybody else’s—being our intellectual property.
'Anybody can now recreate themselves at any age they are, by way of AI or deep fake technology… I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and that’s it, but my performances can go on and on and on.
'Outside of the understanding that it’s been done by AI or deep fake, there’ll be nothing to tell you that it’s not me and me alone, and it’s going to have some degree of lifelike quality.'
Many of Hanks' peers reportedly shared the same sentiments.
You can view Tom Hanks' post below:
Source: Instagram/@tomhanks.
In similar news, more 'sophisticated' AI voice cloning scams have skyrocketed in the past year.
This type of scam involves cybercriminals stealing a victim’s voice from social media and using it to fool unsuspecting family members with a fearmongering phone call. This is done in the hopes of receiving money or access to private information.
Mike Scheumack, Chief Innovation Officer at IdentityIQ, an identity theft protection and credit score monitoring firm, said: 'AI has been around for a long time, and software companies have been using it to advance technology for a while.'
'We’ve seen a lot in terms of advanced phishing scams, targeted phishing scams, we’ve seen where AI is being used to generate very specific emails, and the language is very specific as to who the target is.’
'We’ve seen AI voice cloning scams increase over the past year as well, which is a very scary topic.'
Scammers can make the cloned voice say whatever they want by typing in words and even add more emotions like fear or laughter into the voice, which then adds credibility to the scam.
You can read more about this here.
Members, have you ever been targeted by these ads using images of celebrities you know? Share your experience with us in the comments below!
As if it wasn’t hard enough, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made life even harder for celebrities due to its sophisticated ability to impersonate them for malicious purposes.
Recently, a video featuring an AI-generated image of Hollywood star Tom Hanks circulated the internet, and the acclaimed actor took to social media to warn his followers not to fall for the scam that used his image without his permission.
Tom Hanks was the most recent celebrity victim of an AI-generated scam. Image source: Instagram/@tomhanks.
'BEWARE!', he wrote in the caption below an image of the AI-generated Tom Hanks.
'There's a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me. I have nothing to do with it,' he added.
In a podcast, Hanks discussed his fears about the implications of AI on the entertainment industry, and claimed that the technology can make it difficult for fans to distinguish between a fake image and a real actor.
'The first time we did a movie that had a huge amount of our own data locked in a computer—literally what we looked like—was a movie called The Polar Express,' he shared.
'We saw this coming. We saw that there was going to be this ability to take zeros and ones inside a computer and turn it into a face and a character. Now that has only grown a billion-fold since then, and we see it everywhere.'
'I can tell you that there [are] discussions going on in all of the guilds, all of the agencies, and all of the legal firms to come up with the legal ramifications of my face and my voice—and everybody else’s—being our intellectual property.
'Anybody can now recreate themselves at any age they are, by way of AI or deep fake technology… I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and that’s it, but my performances can go on and on and on.
'Outside of the understanding that it’s been done by AI or deep fake, there’ll be nothing to tell you that it’s not me and me alone, and it’s going to have some degree of lifelike quality.'
Many of Hanks' peers reportedly shared the same sentiments.
You can view Tom Hanks' post below:
Source: Instagram/@tomhanks.
In similar news, more 'sophisticated' AI voice cloning scams have skyrocketed in the past year.
This type of scam involves cybercriminals stealing a victim’s voice from social media and using it to fool unsuspecting family members with a fearmongering phone call. This is done in the hopes of receiving money or access to private information.
Mike Scheumack, Chief Innovation Officer at IdentityIQ, an identity theft protection and credit score monitoring firm, said: 'AI has been around for a long time, and software companies have been using it to advance technology for a while.'
'We’ve seen a lot in terms of advanced phishing scams, targeted phishing scams, we’ve seen where AI is being used to generate very specific emails, and the language is very specific as to who the target is.’
'We’ve seen AI voice cloning scams increase over the past year as well, which is a very scary topic.'
Scammers can make the cloned voice say whatever they want by typing in words and even add more emotions like fear or laughter into the voice, which then adds credibility to the scam.
You can read more about this here.
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